Located in the Mouraria neighborhood—the birthplace of fado—this restaurant is a prime pick for sampling traditional Portuguese food. The codfish, or bacalhau, is a must here. It is served with plenty of bread to clean your plate.

In the style of a classic tasca (Portuguese tavern), the walls are adorned with blue tiles and many photos, paintings and drawings.

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Codfish Drowned in Olive Oil and Bread

How I love the restaurants in the gentrifying neighborhood of Mouraria. You won’t find a sign pointing to the restaurant, but you will probably see a line outside, so try to be there around noon or you will have to wait.

I would suggest ordering the cod, but all of the menu is tasty. The cod is just so good—but prepare yourself, because you will eat a lot of bread that you dip into the olive oil. By the way, the portions are generous, so don’t worry, you won’t starve.

You can see the fish being prepared in the open kitchen. And everybody here is so nice, you will feel very welcome—and this is the typical Portuguese restaurant.

Restaurant Ze da Mouraria

This meal was one of the best that I had in Lisbon. It is only open for lunch on definitely off the beaten path on a quaint little street. There are basically just meat and fish options and they come in large portions. We order the calamari and were not disappointed. It arrived in a large pot and was just calamari, potatoes, oil, garlic and herbs. The calamari was so fresh and the sauce that it was in was incredible + great for dipping the bread (which was also amazing). The restaurant was filled with locals and we got the last table before there was a wait. Not sure if they take reservations but worth looking into if you want to make sure you get a table.

Calamari Heaven in Lisbon

You won’t find a sign pointing to the restaurant, but you will probably see a line outside, so try to be there around noon or you will have to wait. This little restaurant is just round the corner from the tram 28 1st stop. It’s a favourite amongst Lisbon’s taxi drivers, so you know that food it well, it varies often and there are no tourists. Don’t be surprised if you walk into see people eating calamari and potatoes in a huge steel bowel. One portion feeds 4. The locals had doggy bags to take what they didn’t eat home. The calamari was so tender and the flavour was out of this world. The cost with bread & 4 beers was €22. All I can say is seek this place out you won’t be disappointed.

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